Starry Night
by Andrithir
Summary: John has made it back to Earth safely, where an old friend awaits him.


**Starry Night**

**Foreword**

I swear the Chief's eyes were brown in the books, but now they're blue? A lot of blue eyes in Halo these days…

This story is a bit AU. I take _plenty_ of artistic licenses here.

…

**UNSC Orbital Defence Station Yorkshire, Earth**

John stood at the windows, hands clasped behind his back as he watched the northern lights below. The dancing tendrils of emerald green with hues of purple reminded him of Reach. Between recovery sessions after the augmentations, he'd spend hours on the observation deck watching the aurora borealis below as he floated in the zero-gee environment.

But he couldn't exactly turn of the Yorkshire's gravity plates, the staff wouldn't take too kindly to someone – him included – tampering with their systems just so he could enjoy the spectacular view below. Not to mention that dirt would be flying out of the garden boxes to clog the air filters.

He would just have to settle for what he had.

"Mind if I join you?" a voice asked.

John quickly turned around and snapped a quick salute.

"Not at all, sir."

It was Captain Thomas Lasky, the man who had led the recovery mission to the Ark.

"At ease Chief, it feels kinda odd for you to call me, 'sir'," he said.

John noticed the brief trailing of eyes as the Captain took in the Spartan out of armour. The MJOLNIR had been shot up, and apparently he was getting a newer model when he would return to active deployment. Instead of the iconic green exoskeleton, he was wearing the black uniform of the Navy Special Forces.

"Congratulations on your promotion," Lasky said as he walked up to the window, folding his arms.

"Thank you, sir."

As Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, John would have a billet equivalent to that of a Vice Admiral, and would spend his time observing training and talking to families.

"You know I never saw Earth until I was an adult… but I still consider her as home," he said with a serene expression.

"Likewise."

"Well… welcome home, Chief. And a word of advice… try to have a normal life…"

John angled his head slightly.

"You've done enough, Chief," Lasky said. "Try and enjoy your time off."

The Spartan's eyebrows knitted together ever so lightly.

"My mother and I were never really that close… and after my first tour of duty I returned home. I waited in the car for a full hour, just outside the house. I couldn't go in and face my mother. But Dad, well, he's perceptive. He came out and we just talked. He told me that the best way to move forward, was just to talk about it, whether people understood or not. And it's better to talk to a friend."

"I understand."

"Good," Lasky said with a half-smile. He then turned his eyes back to the view below.

Pulling up a console interface, Thomas selected a soundtrack to be played through the speakers. It started out with a piano playing a soft slow tune, accompanied by the timbre of a cello.

"I always listen to this when I'm here. I'll let you have the deck to yourself."

John heard the footfalls patter out, followed by the sound of a door sealing shut. Once more he was alone to watch the Earth below. Towards the west, over Russia, was a thunderstorm. Flashes of white and blue lit up the dark grey clouds, illuminating their bulbous forms. It was enthralling to watch coupled with the gentle melody.

His eyes looked over at the console, reading the title of the piece, _Spiegel im Spiegel_ by Arvo Pärt. He made a mental note to himself to add the composition to his very small musical library.

The bell chimed just as the doors parted open again, revealing a lone female figure dressed in the black service uniform. She had an angular beauty to her complexion.

"John?" she whispered, not bothering to hide the joy in her voice.

Striding towards her, he pulled her into an embrace and buried his face into her brown hair.

"You're back," she said softly.

"I'm back," he affirmed.

Pulling her head away, she cupped his cheek with one hand and the other on the nape of his neck.

"You're safe," she beamed, bringing her hand to form a Spartan smile across his face.

He smiled back.

"I'm okay, Kelly."

Bringing his head down, she pulled him into a passionate kiss. The two of them lost themselves in the moment of a peaceful euphoria, and returned to a warm embrace, just gazing out on the Earth below.

"Congrats on your promotion Mikpon," she teased. "Parley tours aren't your forte."

"No… no it isn't," he agreed. "Hood says he's discussing changes."

"Sounds like a demotion."

"He wants me to become a CO."

"Still sounds like a demotion," she joked. "You'll have to give up your Vice Admiral billeting privileges."

John chuckled softly.

"I'll make do."

A comfortable silence formed between them as he held her, resting his head against hers as he watched the dancing lights.

"We made it," he said.

"We made it," she agreed. "We're still here."

…

**Earth**

It had been so long since he had just lain down without a care in the world. The soft summer breeze blew through the meadow, tousling with the tall grass of the English fields. He could just lie there, breathing in the lands as he looked up at the night sky. His brown eyes trailed the wispy hand of the Milky Way as he gazed out into the cosmos. Flashes of red and green would wink by so fast that he knew it was from the satellites and ships.

Down here, he was away from it all, and at peace with _her _by his side. Kelly moved lightly in John's arms, her eyes shut as he brushed away a stray stand of her hair behind her ears. Under the moonlight, she could see the faint scars that were slowly fading away. Her features were neither old nor young, and her skin devoid of wrinkles but lacking in the suppleness of youth, just like his.

They had fought for over three decades, most of it side by side and back to back. He brought his lips to her forehead, and holding it there for a few moments, breathing in a scent that was uniquely hers. He felt her arms tighten around him as she moved her head onto his shoulder.

The last time they had out in the fields together was when they were children. It was a survival and evasion exercise by Mendez. The rules were simple, avoid the hunters. John and Kelly had evaded capture for a few days before meeting up on the edge of the meadow. Amongst the tall grass, they laid there, watching the night sky.

"Hey," he whispered.

A content sigh escaped her lips as her eyes slowly fluttered open.

His brown eyes softened as he gazed into her cerulean blues.

"Hey," she whispered back.

"We should get back," John said.

"Hmmm," Kelly murmured. "That's a first."

"What is?"

"You wanting to go home."

John smiled, rubbing her back lightly.

"We can stay here a bit longer… but we did promise everyone a house warming party."

"Linda can let them in."

John arched an eyebrow.

"How?"

Kelly gave a soft laugh.

"I gave her the spare keys."

"It's not quite a house warming party if we're not there…"

"Party is not until tomorrow, calm down."

"We still need to get the groceries."

"We can buy it on the way back."

"Fine, we can stay a few more hours," John abdicated.

He could feel Kelly grin against his shirt.

"Good," she whispered. "You know, we can always postpone it."

"We did that last week."

"One more wouldn't hurt."

"Kelly," John repeated.

"Alright… a few more hours then."

…

**Afterword**

I have no idea what was going for… but I'm happy with the finished product. I hope you all like it, and start to write some more John/Kelly fics. This fandom needs more of it.


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